Shelf construction for refrigerator door



Sept. 30, 1969 A. J. SWANECK E'rm. 3,469,711

SHELF CONSTRUCTION FOR REFRIGERATOR DOOR me ct- 25. 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 WITNESSES: mvsmons 4.&1%,M4/ Anthony J. Swarmckv 8| 1 Charles A; Wilcox Sept. 30, 1969 A. J. SWANECK ET AL 3,469,711

SHELF CONSTRUCTION FOR REFRIGERATOR DOOR FIG. 3

United States Patent 3,469,711 SHELF CONSTRUCTIONOFOR REFRIGERATOR DO R Anthony J. Swaneck, Columbus, and Charles A. Wilcox, Upper Arlington, Ohio, assignors to Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Oct. 23, 1967, Ser. No. 677,388 Int. Cl. A47f 5 08; A47g 29/00; A47b 57/20 US. Cl. 211--176 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A refrigerator door shelf formed of a one-piece metallic member bent into a shallow U-shape to form the front and end walls, and a molded plastic one-piece member forming the floor of the shelf with the plastic member being secured to the metallic member through flanges received by grooves on the metallic member and stacked together at selected places.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION Kessler US. application S.N. 569,995, filed Aug. 3, 1966, and now Patent No. 3,375,936 discloses a relatively deluxe, expensive shelf of the general type with which this invention is concerned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention The invention pertains to the art of refrigerator door shelves.

Description of the prior art The shelf disclosed in the noted patent application is quite satisfactory from the standpoint of performing its function and providing a pleasing appearance. However, it is relatively costly to make and accordingly results in a cost disadvantage of the refrigerator in which it is used.

A shelf according to the present invention is adapted to essentially perform the same function as the shelf of the noted patent, as well as being relatively inexpensive to manufacture and also provide a relatively pleasing appearance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A shelf according to the present invention is of essentially two-piece construction. The front wall and end walls of the shelf are formed of a one-piece metallic member of substantially uniform cross-section for most of its length, thereby lending itself to being extruded, and is then formed into a shallow U-shape in which the bight of the U-shape forms the front wall, and the legs of the U-shape form the end walls. The inner face of the metallic member is provided with groove means extending for most of the length of the member adjacent the lower edge. The rear vertical edges of the legs are provided with the hooks or lugs adapted to engage structure on the inner ,door panel for supporting the weight of the shelf.

{openings at selected intervals so that the plastic member may be rigidly secured to the metallic member by deforming portions of the groove means into the openings by staking.

DRAWING DESCRIPTION FIGURE 1 is an isometric view of the shelf adjacent 3,469,71 l Patented Sept. 30,, 1969 a fragmentary portion of the inner door panel upon which the shelf may be mounted;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the shelf according to the invention;

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The inner face of the refrigerator door is defined by the plastic panel 10 having ridges 12 along the opposite verticgl sides upon which are fastened the upright notched stringers 14 to which the shelf of the invention is attached. The recessed space 16 between the ridges 12 accommodates the rearwardly projecting portion of the bottom of the shelf when it is mounted. Y

The shelf construction according to the invention is a two-piece assembly. The first place is the metallic member generally designated 18 which, as viewed in plan, is of shallow U-shape with the bight thereof forming the front wall 20, and the legs thereof forming the opposite end walls 22 and 24.

The transverse cross-sectional shape of the metallic member may be best seen in FIGS. 3 and 4. As there shown, the upper edge is stiffened by an enlarged bead portion 26, and the inner face of the lower edge includes inwardly-open groove means generally designated 28 adapted to receive a tongue or flange on the bottom part of the shelf as assembled. The rear vertical edge of both of the end walls 22 and 24 are provided with lug means orhooks 30 which interlock with the stringers 14 to support the shelf on the refrigerator door inner panel.

The second piece of the shelf is the bottom generally designated 32 and which resembles a shallow pan having a flat bottom wall 34 and a peripheral upright wall 36. The rearwardly-projecting part of the shelf bottom is shorter (FIG. 2) than the forward part so that it can be accommodated in the recess 16 of the door inner panel when the shelf is mounted. The upper edge of that part of the peripheral wall 36 encompassed by the U-shaped metallic member 18 has an outwardly-directed flange 38 which is received by the groove means 28. At selected locations along the flange 38, openings 40 (FIGS. 2 and 4) are provided therein so that the upper lip of the groove means 28 may be staked into the openings. Typical staking locations 42, as shown in FIG. 2, include one for the groove means associated with each of the end walls 22 and 24, and three along the front wall 20.

It is currently preferred that the metallic U-shaped member 18 be made of aluminum extruded in long lengths which are then cut to size and have the hooks 30' formed therein, and are then bent into the U-shaped pieces. Aluminum is the currently preferred material since it lends itself to the extrusion process, and also is easily worked.

The bottom part of the shelf may be conveniently molded of plastic material. The pan shape lends strength and rigidity. The overall shelf construction is such that the metallic portion 18 transmits the shelf load to the integral hooks 30 from the plastic bottom which is supported along a substantial part of its periphery. Thus normal shelf loads may be carried without straining or We claim:

1. An improved shelf adapted to be adjustably positioned on an inner panel of a refrigerator door, comprising:

a one-piece metallic member formed into a shallow U-shape, with the bight of said U-shape defining a front wall and the opposite legs of said U-shape defining the opposite end walls of said shelf, the lower edge portion of' said bight and legs including inwardly-open groove means therein;

a molded plastic member forming the bottom wall of said shelf, said member including outwardly-directed flange means disposed to be received in said groove means; and

means for securing said groove means and flange means together to support said plastic member from said metallic member.

2. A shelf according to claim 1 wherein:

said securing means comprises selected deformed p tions of said groove means engaging said flange means.

3. A shelf according to claim 2 wherein:

said flange means includes openings therein registering with and receiving said deformed portions of said groove means.

4. A shelf according to claim 1 wherein:

the-vertical rear edges of said opposite legsinclude integral lug means for supporting said shelf from .said door inner panel.

- :l leferences Cited VUNITE'D $TATES PATENTS" 2,740,266 4/ 6 Kesling. p I "2,749,718 6/1956 Saunders l 62-377 3,375,936 4/1968 Kessler 211-176 DAVID J. WILLIAMOWSKY, Primary. Examiner ArY; KUND RAT, Assistant Examiner i Us. 01. X.R.- 

